PFSN’s Football Debate Club is split on the question hanging over the 2025 quarterback class: which second-year passer is positioned for the bigger sophomore leap?
NFL analyst Jacob Infante took Jaxson Dart, while NFL draft analyst Ian Cummings took Cam Ward. Let’s take a look at the argument for each and what the numbers say.
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Jaxson Dart’s Year 2 Setup Outclasses Cam Ward’s
“Better sophomore year? I’d say Jaxson Dart,” Infante said on the show, while still giving Ward the nod in a hypothetical redraft. “I’d still take Ward 1.1 just because he was in such a bad situation and still was able to make plays happen. But you’re looking at Dart, he’s in a good opportunity now.”
Dart finished his rookie year as an AP Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist, throwing 15 touchdowns against 5 interceptions while adding 9 more on the ground. He logged 487 rushing yards in 12 starts, the most among rookie quarterbacks in 2025. Most of it came without Malik Nabers, who tore his ACL in Week 4 — Dart’s first start.
Dart accounted for 40.0% of the Giants’ red zone carries after taking over. Dart ranked 18th among all quarterbacks in PFSN’s QB Impact metric as a rookie and Infante believes he “has a chance to rise because of the surroundings.”
“Malik Nabers is coming back. They’ve added the likes of Darnell Mooney and Isaiah Likely in the passing game,” Infante said. “That defense should be better. They really retooled that roster in free agency.”
Likely arrived from Baltimore on a three-year, $40 million deal. Mooney signed from Atlanta. The Giants used a first-round pick on Francis Mauigoa to reinforce an offensive line that surrendered just 15 sacks all season after giving up 30 the year before.
Then, there’s John Harbaugh.
“John Harbaugh as his head coach, he’s won a lot in the NFL,” Infante said. The Giants hired the most accomplished head coach on the market in February, and Harbaugh chose New York largely because of Dart. Now, Harbaugh and his staff will do whatever they can to help him realize his full potential.
What Cam Ward Has Going for Him in Year 2
Cummings made the case for Ward built on one name: Brian Daboll.
“Josh Allen under Daboll his first year, his rookie year, was a 69.2 PFSN QB Impact [score]. [That] jumped to 89.9 by his third season,” Cummings said. “I think that Ward can make a similar leap over that time.”
Daboll, the Titans’ new offensive coordinator, developed Allen in Buffalo and ran the Giants’ offense throughout Dart’s rookie season before getting fired in November. Now, he inherits Ward in Tennessee under defensive-minded head coach Robert Saleh.
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Also, Tennessee went heavy on upgrading Ward’s weapons, too. “He’s got Carnell Tate and Wan’Dale Robinson in the rotation,” Cummings said. “They bring back three starters on the offensive line.” The Titans took Tate at No. 4 overall and signed Robinson in free agency, addressing a receiver group that dropped 24 passes in 2025, eighth-most in the league.
As a rookie, Ward posted a 59.8 QBi score, which ranked 45th out of 48 eligible QBs (ahead of only Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and Jake Browning). Ward also had a league-worst QBR (33.2) while completing under 60% of his throws for a 3-14 team. The hope is that Daboll can help him turn things around, and the Titans OC has praised the early returns, calling Ward “a young professional” who picks up new concepts “very quickly.”
Both teams open their 2026 seasons in September with real expectations attached to their quarterbacks for the first time. Ward will try to close the gap, but he’ll need to thrive in Daboll’s scheme and build a connection with newcomers Tate and Robinson. For now, Dart certainly seems like the safer pick given what he showed as a rookie and his surroundings in Year 2.
